Last Christmas, the autumn champions Bayern Munich looked sharp but the very next match day (or so), they gave it away. This year, to save Uli Hoeness from tears, they've been giving it something special, special.

OK, a 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach wasn't exactly the dream result before a cheese-tastic laser show in the Allianz Arena brought Bundesliga proceedings for 2012 to a halt. But 13 wins, three draws and one defeat from 17 games have left everyone – even the notoriously hard-to-please Matthias Sammer – content. "We are very satisfied," said the Bayern CEO, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, "we can be optimistic for the new year". Hoeness used almost identical language but added a second "very" to the "satisfied", saying that Bayern could go into the winter break "totally relaxed". "If we stay as focused as we've been, we'll reach our targets," he said, beaming happily in the mixed zone.

The only discordant note came courtesy of Jérôme Boateng. The defender was hardly to blame for conceding a penalty when Tolga Cigerci's cross hit his elbow but Hoeness still felt the need to admonish him for it. "When you go towards the ball like that, you can't complain if it's a penalty," said the Bayern manager.

It was a strange interpretation – Boateng had actually jumped up and turned his back to the cross – but had to be put into a wider context. For Hoeness, Boateng's unsighted leap into the air was yet another example of the lack of reliability surrounding the defender. The 24-year-old is an accomplished footballer but his enigmatic (lack of) temperament sees him alternate between over-zealous tackling and bouts of apathy with alarming regularity. Holger Badstuber's injury could yet come back to haunt Bayern in the latter stages of the season, especially in Europe.

League wise, though, it's almost inconceivable that history should repeat itself. A nine-point cushion ahead of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen and 12 points more than Borussia Dortmund are incredibly hard to throw away, even if the January trip to Qatar ends up not being "the best training camp of all time" (Hoeness) for a change.

Leverkusen, for their part, would be delighted if they ended up exactly where they are now in the new year. "Vizemeister" – the championship runners-up – the crowd in the BayArena were lustily chanting amidst the 3-0 win over Hamburg. This was irony and genuine pride, rolled into one. "We wouldn't mind staying up there," said the striker Stefan Kiessling, who added two more to his tally of 12 in the league this season.

Leverkusen were always talented enough to be this consistent but the success of the league's only official management duo (Sammer and Jupp Heynckes don't count) has still come as a huge surprise. "Few thought we'd be able to do this well," wrote Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypia in their jointly-penned programme notes. The CEO, Wolfgang Holzhäuser, has also played a rare positive role: without his refusal to sell Lars Bender (to Bayern) and André Schürrle (to Chelsea) in the summer, Bayer would have only had two thirds of good team.

Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, had a tough time at Hoffenheim. "I've never seen something like that from my team, in a negative sense," said Jürgen Klopp about the lacklustre first half, "we lulled ourselves to sleep". The champions turned it on after the break, however, to win 3-1 and keep within striking distance of Bayern in third spot. Winning a hat-trick of titles is not the priority for Europe's most exciting side though. Dortmund need to finish in the Champions League places and generate more money for new recruits as well as a replacement for striker Robert Lewandowski, who's more than likely to be off in the summer.

The fourth member of the league's big four will head into the holidays in a much more fretful state. Half the Veltins-Arena was empty well before the final whistle and sections of supporters were fighting each other over the right response to the new safety measures. Schalke's 3-1 home defeat to Freiburg also rang in the inevitable dismissal of "manager of the century" Huub Stevens. "When I got a call from [the sporting director, Horst Heldt] at quarter to eight on Sunday morning, I knew what was up," said the Dutchman, "he's usually never at the training centre that early".

Heldt explained that the manager did no longer "connect" with the changing room and darkly hinted at a decisive, destructive incident that must have happened over the past few weeks but has so far remained unexplained. Sky Germany revealed that one or two players – the names are easily guessed – had let it be known that they would only sign new contracts if Stevens were to go. The youth coach, Jens Keller, is taking over until the end of the season at the seventh-placed club.

Thomas Tuchel, despite denials on all sides, is the favourite for the job come next summer. The Mainz coach helpfully explained that "a big package" was needed for him to make the switch and the Royal Blues will be happy to oblige. The sixth-placed finish in 2012 for Mainz is no accident. After a shaky start, Tuchel's team has gone back to pressing the opposition with an intensity that even Klopp's Dortmund can't always muster.

"We're playing Mainz 05 football, the one we've signed up to years ago," cheered their general manager, Christian Heidel, after the 3-1 win over Stuttgart on Saturday. Mainz, like their similarly hard-working table neighbours Freiburg, have to make do with a fraction of the budget of bigger fish like Hamburg, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg or Werder Bremen, but Tuchel continues to find ways that make the sum bigger than its parts.

Frankfurt, 2-0 winners at Wolves, also deserve plenty of praise in that respect. Fourth spot is a sensational achievement with a team that hasn't changed all that much since getting relegated 18 months ago. Armin Veh's methods are not quite modern but no one can argue with the results – 30 points after 17 games. "If anyone had said that before the season, they would have pronounced him mad by the whole of Germany," said the sporting director, Bruno Hübner.

Can Mainz, Freiburg and Frankfurt keep it up when the big boys bounce back in the new year? The massive squeeze below Bayern and above Hoffenheim will ensure that the Bundesliga will remain exciting. See you at the other side. Frohes Fest!